PLOT:
The episode where Columbo nails the killer by a monkey's fingerprints brought the series to the height of implausibility. The murderer is Leon Lamarr. The motive is money. His nephew has filled in winning lottery numbers in his form, but he doesn't want his wife to find out because they are getting divorced and she would get her hands on a lot of his winnings. Therefore he asks his uncle Leon to claim the cheque on his behalf in exchange for a percentage of the winnings. What he doesn't know is Leon intends to claim all the winnings for himself and kill his nephew. He slips away from a fancy dress party at his house and murders his nephew. He thinks there is nothing linking him to the scene of the crime. When Columbo shows up he begins to suspect something fishy and delves into the scenario of the lottery win by Lamarr. Eventually he nails Lamarr on his nephew's pet monkey's fingerprints on the medallion that he wore that night.
VERDICT: Rip Torn is a rather boring murderer and the episode is uninspiring. This is typical of the poorer 90s episodes, in that it copies aspects of the 70s episodes. This is a blatant copy of Suitable for framing, the only difference being whose fingerprints nailed the villain (Columbo's compared to the monkey's).
Written by Mark Wilson
(C) Copyright Wilson/Young Enterprises 2006.
CAST:
Leon Lamarr.................Rip Torn
Nancy Brower..............Jamie Rose
Freddy Brower...........Gary Kroeger
Martha Lamarr...........Betsy Palmer
Detective Stroller..Warren Berlinger
Gregory Lopiccolo.....Antony Ponzini
Momma...................Penny Santon
Trish......................Brit Lind
Detective Lancer..Robert Alan Browne
Detective Braverman.....Daniel Trent
